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the underlying factor is the determination of the harm done by the family
remaining in the then surroundings. An assessment is attempted of the
danger of spread from the patients to others. This is determined largely
by two factors: one is the infectiousness of the patient, the other is the
facility with which the disease could be spread; this is measured by the
degree of crowding. Particularly in the earlier stages of the post-war
years there were many families so placed that rehousing as a preventive
measure was urgently necessary and the Council allocated as many as ten
per cent of new housing for these families. The position improved gradually
and has now reached a stage when there are really no urgent cases
requiring rehousing on these grounds. The occasional case will continue
to appear out of the blue on the occurrence of an infective case amongst
those living in a crowded house, but in general the situation from this
point of view is satisfactory. It has been necessary to adopt this standard
of assessment for rehousing as a preventive measure. It has never been
possible to consider the other most desirable aspect of rehousing a family
in the interests of the patient himself.